Did you know there are a few things we all do (not just mums) that hold us back from achieving what we want? We all have different goals, dreams and skills, but one thing we all have in common is the ability to sabotage ourselves, to hold ourselves back from achieving what we want most.
Read on and ask yourself if you do these things. If the answer is yes, it’s time to take action and change the script.
You are waiting for the “right time”. This is the one I hear most often and I have used it myself many times. Fact is (and I think we all know this deep down), the right time is now. There will always be a reason not to do something. As mums we can find excuses, which feel very genuine, all around us. Instead of letting this negative conversation take place in your own head, ask yourself this instead: How can I make now the right time? Find a way to start. The first step is always the most difficult and the most crucial.
You want everything now. You look at a task, whether it’s losing weight or starting a new business and you want it to happen overnight. For mums, we often feel we need things to be quick or they aren’t a viable option. This is your mind’s way of getting you to quit before you’ve started. Remind yourself, everything worth having takes time and effort. Instead of telling yourself it’s too hard or will take too long so there’s no point, imagine what it would be like if you began this time last year and where you’d be now. The same can be applied if you imagine what life will be like in one year from now, if today is the day you BEGIN.
You procrastinate. Finally, you decide to do the thing you’ve always wanted to do! Writing a book, running a marathon or perhaps starting your own photography business? Hooray, you say… you’ve committed. Only, instead of writing your first chapter or running three mornings a week, or instead of sending your portfolio to prospective clients, you find other things that need to get done. You have to buy the right computer on which to write your book. You have to buy the correct running shoes and research the best way to run for a few weeks before you hit the pavement. Or maybe you need to work on your logo and do some qualitative research before you show anyone your pictures. Now, I’m not saying these things don’t matter, but in reality they are procrastinations. Ways for us to delay starting the thing we want the most.
If you nodded along to any of these you are not on your own. Our ego is a sensitive thing, so to avoid failure sometimes it’s easier not to try at all.
Anyone who ever achieved anything great, overcame this self doubt and resistance. Our own personal fulfilment and happiness lies beyond the doubt, the procrastination and the hesitation. Once we see the behaviours, we can begin to change our mindset. Your brain is always on the defensive, protecting you from hurt. That’s nice right? Of course it is, but now it’s time to get in the driver’s seat. Say, thanks brain, but I’ll take it from here.
So what is it you’ve been waiting for the right time to do? What is it that seems like it will take too long to bother? What have you been working on in the background that it’s time to move forward on? Take control. Start today.